*Sigh* I haven't received the reviews that I wanted/needed.
Nah, this story is still far from conclusion anyway.
So, uh, I want to say sorry to you guys because it's been a long time since I've last updated this fic, I hope that you'll be able to forgive me.
Also, there is something I should've done before but have forgotten to. I wanted to thank the guys who followed, favorited, and reviewed my fic, you guys are my inspiration to continue writing, so thank you very much! :D
Special thanks to: WhiteEagle1985, CHaoticDue, aloasa, AuroraWinters and to two unnamed guests for reviewing my fic
And finally, thank you to The Shiny Gengar, for helping me in every way you could.
So, enough with the Author's note;
READ AND PLEASE REVIEW
Chapter 4: The Downfall of Petalburg
"Hi Ash" said May happily as Ash opened the door
"What brings you here?" Ash asked
"I just wanted to visit you, that's all"
"But, what about your father? I'm sure he won't allow you to leave castle" said Ash as he raised a brow
"Actually…" May grinned sheepishly "Father sent 3 guys to watch over me, there are two over there" May pointed towards a bush at her left, and the bush started rustling by the time May pointed towards it "And a legionary named Brendan over there" May pointed towards the branches of a tree at her right.
Ash was startled when he heard the name Brendan, he took a stone from the ground and threw it towards the tree, and fortunately for Ash, it directly hit the camouflaged Brendan and caused to him to fall towards the solid ground back-first
"I'll get you one day Ash Ketchum!" exclaimed Brendan as he groaned in pain
"So, uh, are you busy today?" asked May with an innocent tone
"Yes." Ash said before he closed the door with great force, leaving a surprised May standing like an idiot in front of the closed door. By the time May had processed the previous events into her mind, she let out a sigh, not a sigh of defeat, but a sigh of disappointment
"Ash, I want to go around the town today, but, I'm afraid to go there alone" May said with a weak voice. Ash then opened the door and let out a sigh
"Fine, let's go" Ash then closed the door behind him and grabbed May's hand, surprising May, but May immediately regained her composure and hugged Ash's arm while leaning on his shoulder as they walked on the streets.
While they were walking, an old woman (you could imagine what she looks like) clasped her hands and said "Ah, young love…"
Ash was irritated at what the woman said but decided to ignore it and continued walking. A young man (about as old as Ash) then saw them walking and wolf whistled "What brings you here, beautiful lady? Could you please tell me your name?"
"You want me to make you wish you were never born?" asked Ash with a threatening tone
"Hey, I'm just joking" said the boy with a smirk and then walked away
"Ash" said May while crossing her arms. Ash just let out a sigh.
Ash and May then continued walking, this time May was beside Ash (instead of hugging his arm); they walked past a man playing a harp. By the time they walked past the man, the man sang a song about young love with a beautiful voice; the man was revealed to be Harley. Ash was starting to lose his temper, he clenched his fist but May grabbed his hand and loosened it.
"Ash, control your anger" said May while holding Ash's hand. Ash didn't respond, instead he turned towards Harley and walked towards him
"Could you please stop singing that song" said Ash with a stern look on his face
"I think I've seen you before…. you're the princess' fiancé!" said Harley with joyful voice "But who's this girl?"
Harley gasped when he thought that Ash was cheating on May "You're cheating on the princess?! The King won't be happy because of this!"
"Calm down. First of all: she's not my fiancée, second: I'm not in a relationship, third: this girl in front of you is actually-"Ash tried to explain but stopped when May covered his mouth. May went over to Harley and whispered something
"Okay, I get it now" said Harley with a singsong tone while playing the harp
"You know Harley, you're pretty good at playing that thing" May said while clasping her hands
"Oh, my father taught me how to play one while I was a kid"
"Oh I wish that someone could play me a harp all the time"
While May and Harley kept on talking, Ash sat on a bench while crossing his arms as he watched the two. Ash felt as if he's invisible, but he just listened to their conversation until he thought of something, 'Maybe if I could learn how to play a harp... maybe May would be happy at me. It's the least that I could do…'
. . .
"Ash, let's go now" May said, causing Ash to snap out of his thoughts
"Okay, let's go" Ash said before grabbing her hand gently and started walking
"Hey Ash, won't you mind me asking, but why are you uncomfortable whenever we're together?"
"It's just… it just feel awkward, to be stared at by other people. Seriously though, why won't they just mind their own business? And what does love truly mean…?" Ash said, he suddenly lost control of his mind and his mouth, but when he realized what he just said, he covered his mouth
"Wait, what? You don't know what love means? And you're not feeling anything while we're together?" asked May with a weak voice
"Actually, the truth is… whenever I'm around you, I have this weird feeling, I can't explain it, but it somehow makes me-" Ash tried to explain but immediately stopped when he heard a burst of laughter from the bushes. As fast as lightning, Ash went towards the bushes to know who was watching them; he saw Brendan, along with two other men (you can imagine what they looked like), rolling on the floor, trying to hold their laughter
"Hahaha! Ash doesn't know what love means, what a total idiot!" Brendan said while rolling on the floor, laughing. The other spies also laughed, but when they noticed Ash glaring at them, they immediately stopped and felt chills down their spines
"Run..?" Brendan gulped, expecting for the worst. Brendan and the two spies stood up at blinding speed and started running away from Ash
"I'm going to kill you Brendan, and this time, I'll show no mercy!" Ash said before breaking into a run. May let out a sigh before running to catch up with Ash.
"It's your fault Brendan! If you didn't laugh first, he won't be chasing us like a maniac!" The first spy said
"Yeah! Wait I have an idea!" The second one said before they stared at Brendan mischievously. The second one then placed his foot in front of Brendan, causing him to trip
"Traitors!" Brendan said while lying on the ground, but he immediately stood when he saw Ash behind him. Brendan tried to run away but it was too late, Ash pounced at Brendan and then…
Meanwhile in Twinleaf Kingdom
At the quadrangle of the Twinleaf Castle, hundreds of soldiers were readying for the attack on Petalburg Kingdom, they started loading the catapults, readying their weapons and wearing their armor. Barry walked in front of the soldiers and announced "We shall deploy the main attack tonight, and if we succeed, we would be a step closer on reviving Alexander! Now get ready everyone, Petalburg shall fall!"
The soldiers raised their weapons and cheered "For the Twinleaf Kingdom!"
Gengar came out of nowhere walked towards Barry and said "Excuse me young prince, but may I have a word with you"
"What is it?"
"Just remember that King Norman knows where the sphere is." Gengar turned his back on Barry "Make sure to keep him alive…" Gengar then walked back towards the shadows and faded.
Back in Petalburg
"Aaaugh…. my leg…!" Brendan groaned in pain as he lied on the solid ground with bruises on his face and the bones on his left and right foot were twisted; beside him was the two spies that backstabbed him "…Traitors…"
"Uuugh…" The first one was also in the same state as Brendan, except Brendan's was worse
"Ugh… dear Arceus… what have we ever done to you…?" The second one said with a weak voice, his whole body was numb because of the beating he received.
"Let's go May…" Ash said coldly
"A-Ash! W-what happened to them?!" May stuttered while covering her mouth, not believing what she just saw
"Trust me, you'd better not know"
Later that day
It was a peaceful, dark, starry night and all you could hear is the faint sound of a harp, and a young man's whining. Ash was sitting on his porch while trying to learn how to play a harp. Brendan and the others were sent to the hospital to treat their wounds, even the doctors couldn't believe how their body parts got twisted like that.
Ash was starting to lose his temper, he couldn't play the harp like Harley could, he wanted to throw away his harp but he felt the urge to keep trying "Arceus-damnit! I could never play this harp like Harley could; I paid good money for this crap! All I just wanted was to play this stupid thing to May to at least make her happy at me" Ash was about to throw the harp away but Harley came out of nowhere and said
"And what are you doing at a night at this?"
"I'm then one who's supposed to say that, what are you doing here?" asked Ash with a cold tone
"Oh, it's just I couldn't sleep because of your whining! But anyway, tonight is your lucky night, because I'll teach you how to play a harp!" Harley said joyfully
"No thanks, I think I'll just go to sleep now, bye."
"But don't you want to make the princess happy?"
Ash let out a sigh and allowed Harley to teach him how to play a harp. It was a very long night and the both of them lost track of time; Ash was excited for tomorrow, he's excited to see May's expression once he played the harp; but unfortunately for them, there would be no tomorrow for Petalburg Kingdom…
"(Yawn) I'm very tired, maybe I should go to sleep now" said Ash with squinty eyes. Harley also yawned, indicating that he's also sleepy
"I'll go home now…." Harley agreed. But before Ash could go back inside, the bells of the bell tower started ringing
"Not again…" Ash said before going back inside to pick up his great sword. After Ash grabbed his sword, he rushed towards the castle. He regrouped his new squad and went outside the Kingdom's walls. Ash's new squad consists of 50 elite knights; they are heavy armored soldiers that wield shields that could protect their whole body; they also wield long, sharp, shiny, deadly swords. Their incredible strength allows them to wield their huge shields with one hand, and their weapon with the other.
By the time they arrived at their destination, one the scouts reported "Sir Ash, I'm afraid you can't suppress the opposing army with your squad alone, we'll report to King Norman and ask for reinforcements"
"Do what you must" Ash nodded
The opposing army consists of 40 archers, 70 swordsmen and 3 catapults. Before Ash could execute a command, the catapults started firing flaming rocks; two of them hit the walls, while the other hit a house inside the kingdom's walls. 'I need to put an end to this...!' Ash thought. Ash also noticed that the enemy soldiers are not charging, but are waiting for them to retaliate; Ash immediately noticed that something's wrong. The catapults once again fired, and Ash knew that nothing's going to happen if they would just stand there
"Everyone, it's time to retaliate, we need to end this, now!" Ash commanded.
The royal knights, including Ash, started charging at the enemies. The enemy archers released a barrage of arrows but the knights just blocked every single one of the arrows. The enemy swordsmen were no match against the well trained elite knights being led by Ash; the knights would just bash the enemy with their huge shields and use the opening to slash/stab them with their swords. But some of the knights were killed by the enemy archers. Ash on the other hand, would charge recklessly towards the enemy archers and use his large sword to kill them.
After the enemy was wiped out, Ash burned the wooden catapults. The 38 remaining elite knights started marching back to the Kingdom's walls. Ash thought that this was the end of the attack, but unfortunately for them, this was a part of the plan of the enemy. About 70 enemy horsemen came out of the woods on their east and west, along with 50 archers and 60 swordsmen; 5 catapults came from the hill at their north. Ash was surprised and is starting to lose hope, the squad that they fought before was only a bait, and now they're surrounded; the castle archers can't shoot the enemy because the enemy are out of their range. The catapults fired at the Kingdom's walls, killing some of the castle archers. The remaining elite knights are starting to panic, and Ash noticed this.
"Everyone, listen to me!" yelled Ash, trying to raise their remaining morale "There is still hope, reinforcements are coming, and right now we need to stay defensive! Defensive formations, now!"
The soldiers followed and created a circle formation, attacking enemies that are within range and using their shields as walls to protect themselves. The enemy cavalry started running in a clockwise formation with the defensive knights at the middle of the circle; they tried to look for an opportunity to strike, but failed. The enemy archers then released a rain of arrows and caught the knights off guard; the enemy cavalry found an opening and started trampling the knights. Ash just watched in horror as he saw his squad being wiped out; he felt anger, extreme anger. He took off his upper clothing (excluding his gauntlets), revealing a large upside down star inside a circle at his back, and he also took off his bandanna, revealing the same symbol on his forehead. Wings, dark feathery wings sprouted from his back, and his eyes started glowing red.
Ash flew into the air and shoot lasers from his forehead into his enemies. The archers tried to shoot him, but Ash easily dodged the arrows while shooting dark red lasers. The ten, remaining knights started charging with reckless abandon. Even though they were badly injured, they still fought with honor. Ash glided near the ground while swinging his large sword, killing a large number of enemies. But more enemies were coming, and Prince Barry was riding a horse while trying to increase his army's morale. After a few more minutes, Brendan, who was riding a horse (due to what happened earlier) came, along with Ash's old squad and another squad sent by the king to reinforce Ash. Ash was shot by one of the archers and landed next to Brendan with a loud thud. Ash immediately stood, while breathing heavily; it's been a long time since Ash used his powers, and using them drains his energy. One of the legionaries, who was riding a horse offered his horse to Ash
"Sir Ash, we need you to evacuate the King, the Queen, and princess May" The legionary said while readying his weapon; the other soldiers started charging at the enemy, they fought bravely, even though they were totally outnumbered.
"He's right Ash; there are more horses at the stables at the castle. We'll try to hold them long enough for you to evacuate the royal family." Brendan agreed. Ash just nodded and rode the horse offered to him
"Thank you Brendan, and please forgive me… Farewell, good friend" said Ash with a tear rolling down on his cheek. Brendan gave Ash one last smile before he left. After Ash left to save the royal family, Brendan charged at the opposing army, while yelling their battle cry "For the glory of Petalburg!"
On the other hand, Ash watched the destroyed houses, the slaughtered villagers, as he rode his horse towards the castle. While on his way, Ash immediately stopped when he noticed a familiar boy covered by rubble. Ash carried the boy (bridal style) and realized that he's already dead
"This can't be real! Arthur, wake up! What about your dream!? You can never be a hero if you're already dead!" Ash yelled, he cried as he lifted the lifeless body; but after a few seconds, he laid the boy gently on the ground and rode his horse.'I swear, I'll have revenge. For my friends, my family, Brendan, and you...Arthur' Ash thought as he continued riding towards the castle, trying to hold back his tears.
Somewhere in the woods near Petalburg
A young purple-haired man, about as old as Ash, was wandering in the woods near Petalburg, he was looking for a wild animal to hunt, but didn't found any. The man was wearing a ranger's outfit, he had a bow and a quiver strapped on his back, and a sword strapped on his belt. His name was Paul, a good friend of Ash, and a member of the Mercenaries' Guild. He was about to rest underneath a tree, but he saw a beautiful bluenette, and she seemed to be lost. The bluenette was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a white undershirt and a pink miniskirt. She was also wearing a white beanie on her head. And on her feet, pink boots with black socks underneath. Her name was Dawn, the daughter of Queen Johanna. 'It's dangerous for a defenseless lady to wander in a forest alone, I'd better look after her' Paul thought. Paul decided to hide in the bushes and watch over her, just in case something bad would happen.
Dawn realized that she was lost, but she just sighed and said "No need to worry! I'll be out of this forest before-", Dawn immediately stopped and shivered when she heard a twig snapped. Paul was the one who accidentally stepped on the twig and cursed himself for not being careful
"W-who's there!? Show yourself!" Said Dawn before unsheathing a knife hidden on her bag "I've got a knife! Not just an ordinary knife, but a poison-coated one!"
'I was wrong about the defenseless part, but better safe than sorry!', Paul thought before moving to a new location
Then suddenly, a huge bear came out from the bushes (opposite of Paul's direction) and roared, scaring some of the birds away; Dawn stepped back with fear as she watched the hungry bear roar. The bear ran towards Dawn, and Dawn continued stepping back until her back hit the wall; Dawn shrieked, thinking that she was going to die. But an arrow came out of nowhere and hit the bear's neck, making it stop; but the bear continued walking towards Dawn until it fell to the ground, back first.
'The arrow was coated with poison...' Dawn thought as she sighed with relief. She wanted to thank the one who saved her but she didn't know where he is nor where the arrow came from, instead, she yelled "Hey! Whoever you are, thank you for saving me!"
"No problem" Paul yelled back. Dawn giggled while the birds that are watching them face-palmed before flying away.
A few minutes later, in the Petalburg Castle
By the time Ash arrived at the castle (he was still half-naked); he sprinted at the hallways of the castle and arrived at the throne room shortly after. He saw King Norman and Queen Caroline, along with 5 elite knights and 3 servants. He kneeled in front of the King
"Your Majesty, you need to leave the kingdom now!" said Ash while looking down at the ground. King Norman placed a hand on Ash's shoulder; when Ash looked up, he saw King Norman with a weak smile
"Don't worry about us Ash, we'll fight until the end, but I need you to get May away from here" King Norman said as he raised his sword, the sword reflected light and looked pretty strong. Ash glanced at Queen Caroline
"But what about-?" Ash asked but was cut short by Queen Caroline
"I can wield a bow, but before you leave, promise us that you will protect our daughter, that you will always keep her away from harm"
"Yes Your Majesty" answered Ash as he stood up
"And Ash, I want you to have this" said King Norman as he gave Ash a brown sphere "This is the Earth Sphere, and I believe that this is what they are after, I want you to keep this away from them" Ash nodded in agreement. Ash took the sphere and placed on his fanny pack. He was about to leave the throne room but saw May crying in front of the door
"Father, mother, don't tell me…" May said while holding Max "you're gonna leave me alone…"
Norman walked in front of her daughter and said "May, you need to leave this place now, it's not safe to be here anymore"
"But what about you?" replied May while wiping her tears away
"Just go, don't worry about us" Caroline said "Ash is going to be your guardian, he'll protect you and get you away from here"
"No! I don't want to go! I'll stay here with you!" May said while sobbing. Ash placed a hand on May's shoulder
"May, let's go, it's for your own-"Ash tried to explain but immediately stopped when the doors opened and revealed Barry, along with several other soldiers
"What a nice performance we're having here, but too bad, we're here to break the party!" Barry said while readying his sword "Now tell me, old man, where's the earth sphere?"
And that's it for this chapter. I'll try to update as soon as possible to make up for not updating ASAP.
Also, please don't forget to review!
Until next time,
Armored Shiny